CHILLI BOYS COACH MAKES A BOLD STATEMENT

A somewhat relieved Chippa United coach Daniel ‘Dance’ Malesela boldly stated that their 1-0 win over TS Galaxy in a DStv Premiership encounter at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday afternoon was the beginning of good things coming the Chilli Boys’ way.

Malesela, who was fired by the Rockets in December, delivered the Chilli Boys’ second win of the season when he led the Port Elizabeth side to victory against his former club.

Prior to the Rockets game, the Chilli Boys hadn’t won a match since their 3-1 win over Maritzburg United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on 3 November.

‘‘Look, we expected a very tight game, a very desperate game. We did well to score the goal very early,’’ Malesela said referring to the fourth minute goal scored by former Jomo Cosmos defender Frederic Nsabiyumva.

‘‘We had chances that we could have converted in the first half following the goal we scored, but we let that slip. One thing that we did well was defending though we put ourselves under pressure at times. One is happy that we did well and got a clean sheet and we have the three points. It’s good, it’s a start of good things.’’

The Chilli Boys drew 2-2 with SuperSport United and then lost 1-0 to Lamontville Golden Arrows in the former Orlando Pirates captain’s first two matches after his return to the Eastern Cape club.  

Malesela has now picked up four points from a possible nine since he returned to the Chilli Boys after the festive season. The Chilli Boys have won one match, drawn one and lost one since Malesela’s return. 

Meanwhile, it was not a good start for Rockets Owen da Gama, who was making his debut on the club’s bench.

‘‘How do you not pick up your man? You concede early and that puts you on the back foot. We worked on this, we emphasised on the players that safety first. Anyhow, I’ve got a very clear picture now. We just have to rectify our mistakes,’’ Da Gama said.

The Chilli Boys are going to face unbeaten Swallows FC at the Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday and the Rockets will visit Maritzburg United at the Harry Gwala Stadium on the same day.